Fire-escape



(No Model.)

R. LEERRMANN.

FIRE ESCAPE.

No. 560,713. Patented May 26, 18961.

Smau/box @WCM/Mend NrTEfD- STATES `ATENT Fries.

RINEI-IAR'I` I. HERRMANN, OF COVINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA.

Fl RE-ESCAPE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 569,713, dated May 26, 1896.

Application filed December 10, 1895. Serial No. 571,680. (No model.)

T0 all whom, it may concern.'

Beit known that LRINEHART I. HERRMANN,

a citizen of the United States, residing at Covington, in the county of rIioga and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Fire-Escapes; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in fire-escapes.

It has for its object to provide a combination portable ladder and shawl-strap for the use of travelers and others. My aim in devising this combination is to furnish a light and economical portable lire-escape that may be strapped around the travelers valise or other baggage, so as not only to serve a convenient purpose, but to be always ready for use in case of emergency, the baggage being also used to steady the ladder, as I shall hereinafter describe. In order to attain this object,I have devised the construction and arrangement of parts illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein- Figure I is a perspective view showing my combination fire-escape and shawl-strap as applied to an ordinary telescope-valise- Fig. 2 is a like view of the escape alone, the outer covering being removed to show the interior arrangement of parts and the ladder and grapples being released; and Fig. 3 shows the escape adjusted on the sill of a window and the ladder in process of being unwound.

Similar letters of reference refer to similar parts where they occur in the different views.

Referring now to the drawings, Fig. 2, A A is the framework of the escape, made of suitable metal, as light as possible consistent with the necessary strength.

B B are metallic end pieces, made in the shape shown, to stiften the framework, confine the ladder-When wound up, and furnish bearings for the reelshaft.

D is a disk or hub mounted rigidly on one end of the reelshaft O, outside of the end piece B. Over this disk fits the shoe E, capable of being forced into firm frictional contact with the disk by means of the screw F,

mounted on the end piece B, as shown. Any other appropriate form of brake, however, may be substituted for this one, or I may make cheaper forms of my device without any brake at all, its office being performed by the ratchet arrangement that I will now describe. On the opposite end of the shaft C, in the same relative position as the disk D, is rigidly fixed a ratchet Gr. (Shown in dotted lines.) Acting in connection with this ratchet is the spring-pawl II, which may be lifted off the ratchet by means of the releasebutton I. Flexibly attached to Oone side of the frame, at opposite ends thereof, are the metal grapples K K. I also provide straps L L at each end, as shown, fastened to the' frame at the same point, which may be buckled together or otherwise used to hold the escape when in use. Both the grapples and straps fold up inside the escape, out of the way, when the device is being used as a shawlstrap. found around the shaft C is the flexible ladder M. I have shown this ladder in the form of a single strip provided with loops, as N, for the feet. It may be made of strong webbing, leather, rope, or similar material. While the single-strip ladder is lighter and takes up less space, I may, of course, employ a ladder made of two strips, with cross strips or rungs, in the usual form. At the free end of the ladder I provide two straps O O with stiff cross-pieces P P, as shown, adapted to securely hold a valise or bundle Rwhen buckled around it. Sometimes when the escape is to be used for carrying a bundle of loose articles I make this end portion of the ladder' of netting instead of simply straps.

Q is a folding crank for Winding up theladder, adapted to be carried in the vestpocket.

S is a handle on the escape for carrying the baggage by.

T is a covering to the escape, made of any appropriate material, inolosing thereel and framework. Y

The various parts of my invention being constructed and arranged as described, its operation is as follows: The traveler buckles the straps O O around his valise, telescope, or other baggage, and applying the crank Q to the shaft O winds up the slack in the ladder IOO till the escape is tightly held against the top of the baggage, as shown in Fig. l, the ratchetand-pawl arrangement holding the ladder tightly Wound. When the traveler desires to open his baggage, he releases the pawl by means of the button I and unbuckles the straps O O. In case of fire the traveler buckles the straps around his baggage, as before, and fastens the escape securely to the window-sill by means of the grapples K K. If necessary, the straps L L may be buckled around a bedslat placed across the window, or otherwise secured. The traveler then releases the ratchet-pawl by means of the button I and the baggage R descends of its own weight to the ground, its descent being controlled by means of the brake-screw F. When the baggage has reached the ground, the pawl is allowed to engage the ratchet again, so as to prevent the ladder from nnwinding farther. The weight of the baggage at the end of the ladder holds the ladder steady, so that the traveler may descend with more ease. Another advantage is that by this means the traveler is sure to save his baggage as well as himself.

Sometimes I provide my escape with a small hasp-and-button fastening V, by which the escape proper can be secured positively to the valise, as illustrated in Fig. l, the hinge part of the fastening being riveted to the top of the telescope. I can use the same arrangement for fastening my escape to the back of a liremans coat, so that the iireman may have it ready for instant use wherever he may be.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is- Y l. A fire-escape and shawl-strap comprising a crank-operated reel, a flexible ladder wound thereon, means at the free end of said ladder for holding a piece of baggage, means for holding the reel rigid at any stage of the unwinding and means for fastening the reel to a support.4

2. A fire-escape, comprising a reel, a flexi ble ladder wound thereon, a ratchet and pawl for holding the reel rigid at any stage of the unwinding, a friction-brake for controlling the speed of the unwinding, means at the free end of the ladder for holding a piece of baggage and means for securing the reel to a fixed support.

3. A hre-escape and shawl-strap compris ing a reel-shaft, suitably mounted in a reel frame, a flexible ladder wound on said shaft, a ratchet rigidly mounted on one endof said reeleshaft, a pawl engaging therewith, a disk or hub rigidly mounted on the other end of said reelshaft, a friction -brake bearing thereon, a crank for attachment to the reelshaft, grapples attached to the reel-frame and a pair of adjustable straps attached at the free end of the ladder, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

RINEIIART I. I-IERRMANN.

I'Vitnesses:

JOHN E. BRowNE, W. XV. ROBINSON. 

